EDPD to take part in Click It or Ticket enforcement

The El Dorado Police Department wants to remind motorists to Click It or Ticket. In order to enforce this reminder, the police will be stepping up enforcement beginning May 19.

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By Staff Report

Butler County Times Gazette

By Staff Report

Posted May. 17, 2014 at 7:00 AM

By Staff Report

Posted May. 17, 2014 at 7:00 AM

El Dorado, Kan.

The El Dorado Police Department wants to remind motorists to Click It or Ticket. In order to enforce this reminder, the police will be stepping up enforcement beginning May 19.

El Dorado Police Department’s efforts are part of a larger, national mobilization that runs from May 19 through June 1. As motorists take to the roads to celebrate the long Memorial Day weekend, law enforcement officials across the nation will be ensuring that everyone buckles up.

“Memorial Day weekend kicks off summer vacation season, and we want to ensure that everyone arrives at their destination safe and sound,” said Sgt. John Thompson, with the El Dorado Police Department. “If you are not wearing your seat belt, you will be ticketed.”

According to new data released from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatalities are up nationwide for the first time in five years. In 2012, 10,335 people who were killed in motor vehicle crashes were not wearing their seat belts. NHtSA data also details how more traffic vehicle deaths occur at night. In 2012, 61 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed during the hours of 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. were not wearing their seat belts.

“We are determined to help bring these numbers down,” Thompson said. “There are too many people dying on the roads, and many of those deaths could have been prevented if people took the simple step of wearing their seat belt. We will be handing out tickets year-round to those who still haven’t gotten the message.”